Monthly Archives: September 2013

I finally have my large cauldron home. I’m proud to own such a beauitful cauldron. I plan to do many magickal spellworkings with the cauldron. The cauldron is so big and heavy that I had to take a cab to get it home and even then, it was hard carrying it up the steps to the door and to my apartment.

I have already cleansed and dedicated the cauldron. The cauldron is home in time for Samhain. What witch doesn’t want a big cast-iron cauldron to work spells with? I do, I do. The cauldron is shown in the photo above. The cauldron is also already pre-seasoned.

The cauldron is a symbol of the Goddess, the womb of the goddess, and representative of mystery, magick, the water and fire elements. A Witch can scry using water or oils in a cauldron. A Witch can burn incenses and resins too. I am sure I will have many wonderful magickal workings with my cauldron. I named her Cerridwen, which I feel is appropriate.

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The Harvest Moon reigns over the autumn skies tonight. This is a good time to casting spells and thanking the Moon Goddess for blessing your gardens with her powerful lunar energy. Remember to thank the faeries and your chosen deities for their aid with your gardens. Mabon is a time of gratitude and balance.

If you are searching for some inspiration on how to celebrate this magical esbat, I have several posts that include rituals and spells that you can try tonight. You may have to scroll to find them but it is well worth the effort.

Mabon begins this weekend. Decorate your altar with a Mabon theme for this Full Moon. Use apples, corn, gourds, pumpkins, and grapevines on your altar. Add a stag figurine for the Horned God and a seashell to represent the Goddess. Use an altar cloth that represents the harvest of Mabon. You can buy patterned cotton fabric at a nearby fabric store. Clear your altar space, wash the floor, vacuum and sweep to rid of dust. This is a major Sabbat. Once your altar area is clean, you are free to dress your altar for some Mabon magick!!

Remember to cleanse your crystals, smudge your house and property, and use silver and white candles in your ritual. Silver and white correspond with the Full Moon. This Harvest Moon, the light is brighter tonight which allows the farmers a longer time to glean their bounty of crops from the fields.

I am delighted to share a link with you all about the bees. Bees have been dying worldwide. But this is a landmark victory. Here is the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-24112752 I am so relieved to know that bees have survived. They are essential to our survival.

Mabon is coming up soon. Mabon is a time of balance and harmony. I already feel the chill in the air. Now the idea of the harvest is more exciting because the carrots, radishes, and peas in my garden are growing. The neighbors planted a grape vine. You can try grape vine magic this Mabon.

Grapes are a symbol of fertility and prosperity.

Decorate your altar with grapes and vines. I intend to do this one- make a grapevine pentacle. I just cut and brought in grape vines from the yard here. When it dries, I will weave it into a pentacle.

A busy week is ahead for us. The Wheel of the Year blew in rustic colourful leaves, pumpkins, and a crisp chill in the air. I love autumn equinox as much as any other Witch. So let’s get ready.

Fall is the most magickal time of year. I squealed when I saw large pumpkins in the bins in the grocery store. I couldn’t help it. It was like a confirmation that fall had truly arrived. The Harvest Moon shines luminously on the 19th. Mabon occurs on September 22nd. We get a harvest moon and harvest celebration in one week. I plan to be prepared. I may still have to scoop out slugs from my pots but my small lawn is now spotted with fallen fiery leaves. The Sun enters Libra on the 22nd. The Libra sign represents balance, harmony and friendship. The autumn equinox is when day and night are divided equally.

Now is a good time to give thanks for your herb garden and crops. You may also acknowledge that the earth is dying back and preparing itself for the cold harsh winter. The petals on the Black Eyed Susans and coneflower are dying back. The beautiful velvety seed heads mature on the stems. I plan to save some seeds from them to plant in the spring.

Plan a nice meal with wine, cider, natural bread, squash or pumpkin soup, cheese, and grapes. Invite friends or your coven members over to share the meal. Remember to offer thanks to your deities of choice and to the fairy spirits in your garden who protected and helped your garden grow. Enjoy the magical bounty of Mabon.

I see the signs of my garden transitioning to fall. The flower seed heads are turning brown and losing their petals. The seed heads are beautiful. Well my mugwort which I cut back, is still growing. Leaves are yellowing and some plants are dying back. The peas are past their time. Good thing I started a second pot. I have a while to go yet before I harvest my shallots, peas, carrots, tomatoes and radishes. Some of the veggies are cool season veggies. I am not worried.

Once the harvest is over, I plan to delight earthworms by spilling the organic nutrient rich soil onto the garden. I am growing the peas, shallots, carrots and radishes in pots. The soil will go to the garden. The soil will be recycled and enrich the garden soil. This will help the soil. I choose to do this because it is one way to create good composted soil. The soil will have lots of nutrients because I grew veggies in that soil.

I always let the leaves blanket the soil all winter. This is always a great way to take care of the plants in the garden and add nutrients to the soil. It is even better if the leaves are torn up and mulched. The plants nestle beneath the layer of leaves to be blanketed by the snow and ice. Come spring, I rake away the leaves and toss them into the green compost bin. Then I add fresh soil and await the cheerful arrival of the early plants of spring.

This method has never hurt my garden. I will never understand why people rake up leaves to toss into a landfill site. They are losing out on a great way to help the soil in their gardens, if they have a garden. Leaf mold is the best enriching kind of compost out there. It’s free, too. So do this!

I also always green my pumpkin. I leave my used up carved pumpkin in my garden to decompose and add more nutrients to the garden. A pumpkin takes a long time to decompose so put it somewhere maybe slightly away from the garden.

If you are growing comfrey, consider making comfrey tea. Comfrey tea is a liquid compost for your garden made from water and comfrey leaves. At the end of the season, cut up the comfrey leaves and add them to a jug or pitcher outside. Let it steep a long time then pour the rich earthy compost tea on your garden. Your garden will thank you. Trust me.

Other tips I can share are to fill a large jug with clear clean water, and add a dime, a bit of camphor and let it sit. Then after a while, remove the dime and on a Full Moon night, empty the jug onto the garden. Or every time that you boil veggies in water, save the water and add that to your garden.

Try these tips for your own gardens this autumn season. Your garden will be prepared for spring with these helpful ideas.

September heralds the change in the air. I feel the chill already. Pumpkins now sit in the baskets in the produce aisle. Crisp leaves trail to the ground. My garden is busy preparing itself for fall. Some seed heads are losing their flower petals, leaving the rich brown velvety seed heads behind. I love to feel the texture of them. There is no mistake about it. Fall is the most sensual season of the year.

Next week, the Wheel of the Year spins again. Mabon starts on September 22nd. Mabon precedes Samhain. The Harvest Moon shines on the 19th. I will be posting tips here on how you can make the most of this magickal harvest time. If you had a garden, September- October is the time to harvest what you have sown all summer. Your herbs and vegetables will be ripe to bursting. Throw a potluck and share what you have harvested. Sharing food is a custom that goes back to our ancestors.

Try to include as much organic food as you can for your Mabon feast. Despite what you think, it is cheaper to eat organic. It is better on your body. Go to an organic Farmers Market for ciders, meat, and vegetables. I myself plan to get some rustic bread, goat cheese (mm), and fresh cider. That takes some beating. Our ancestors ate organic food. Think about it. Now there are chemicals in the food. When you eat the food, you eat the chemicals. You take that energy into you. Is that what you want? I doubt it.

Peru has banned GMO food and Monsanto. Way to go, Peru. I hope they are an example to other countries to follow in their suit.

For those of you who live inHalifax, another September highlight is Word on the Street. Word on the Street is an annual Book Fair and Festival. I never miss it and I always have a good time. I look forward to this year’s festival.

For the rest of this week, I shall cover the alternatives that are available. They are not hard to find. Imagine a world where a grocery store sold nothing but organic food. That may occur in the future, but not today. I wish.

However, today I will talk about quinoa. Quinoa is a grain that contains all the nutrients that you need. The book Quinoa: The Everyday Superfood has more than 170 delicious recipes. It is written by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming. The book is available in bookstores.

Quinoa contains all eight essential amino acids and is great for those with gluten intolerance. If you buy a grinder, and buy some organic quinoa-which is delicious, you can create your own flour to make breads, muffins, pancakes. Imagine! You would never have to buy white bread or even whole what flour again.

I enjoy eating a plate of quinoa sprinkled with salt + pepper, and organic soy sauce or tamari sauce. It is satisfying and leaves me feeling light and more clearheaded. You cannot go wrong with quinoa.

The problem is, is that white flour and white bread, both of which are harmful to your health, are so readily available on the market. Well we know who to blame for that. But the other side of the coin is that the people who buy white bread or even nonorganic whole wheat bread are unaware of the alternatives available on the market.

Demand that your local grocery stores continue to supply organic food. If you do, and the stores carry it, then it will continue to be available. Because otherwise you are consuming chemically poisoned food. Ask yourself why you would want to put that energy into your body? Ugh.

Today I am continuing with my mission of informing the public about Monsanto and what they are doing to food and our bodies. Instead of me doing all the talking, I am including many links for you to view at your leisure. Watch and read them. Also, remember to make healthy food choices.

I used to have a successful blog at Blogger and talked a lot about organic food. My blog may have been hacked. Maybe someone didn’t like what I was writing about. Like stuff about genetically modified food and the slow control they are taking of even our own bodies. Well stand and unite. Take back your power. Educate yourself with these links. Reclaim the Power. I will not be stopped. I do not know if my blog was hacked but I shall continue to educate the public about food.

I am now on a mission! I was inspired by the Starhawk Workshop. While I was there, it came to my attention that people are not aware enough of the importance of organic food. Now it is important to be aware. So my mission is to help make people more aware. That is what I am going to blog about here and try to make people more aware on a local level in my community.

Being aware means many things. It means that you make healthier food choices, that you are critical of where you spend your hard earned money, that you strive to benefit the environment, that you boycott restaurants such as McDonalds or Wendys or Starbucks. It means that you are committed to helping the environment. It means that you are educated about the harsh realities of GMO food and stand against Monsanto. It means that you harbour a deep love of our Mother Earth, a love so deep it would never occur to you to step inside McDonalds. It means that you do not support that animals are forced into inhumane conditions and injected with chemicals. Those animals never see daylight or eat grass. How would you feel if you were in such a situation?

Organic food is produced more humanely, retains the necessary nutrients, and is healthier for you. It saves the lives of bees, helps support local farmers, and lets you eat with a conscience. This may not seem like much but each step you take towards choosing organic food over processed does help the environment. Organic food keeps farmers in business and the more you insist on organic food being available, the more that the large grocery stores have to supply it. So keep buying organic food to make it available to as many people as possible.

Commit to selecting organic food. You will stay fit, be healthier, help the environment and know you made a smart choice. When I was at the Starhawk workshop, I found it hard to eat the food that was served because the food wasn’t organic. The food that is being served should reflect the nature of the workshop. I had to throw a lot out and just eat my nature trail seeds because I couldn’t stomach the processed food. That is how committed I am to my course. It shocked me, the quality of food that was served to people. However, I had little choice.

This is what I am trying to communicate. Not enough people are aware that organic food, toiletries, even linens are available and that it would benefit them much more than they realize.

So stay tuned to learn more of the importance of organic food here. Trust me, the bees, birds, local farmers and your own body will thank you for it.